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Jackie Forster
Jackie Forster (née Jacqueline Moir Mackenzie) was born 6 November 1926 and died in London on 10 October 1998.Jackie Forster - The Knitting Circle She married her novelist husband, Peter Forster in 1958 while she worked as a TV presenter and news reporter, but divorced him in 1962 when she realized her true sexual identity.Jackie Forster - The Knitting Circle She is noted for being an Actress, a TV Personality, a Feminist and a Lesbian campaigner.p.270 From the Closet to the Screen - Jill Gardner ISBN 0863584276 Early History Jackie's father was a colonel in the Army Medical Corps and she spent her early years in India. When she was six, she was sent to boarding school in Britain at Wycombe Abbey and then to St Leonards School in Fife. During the war, she played Lacrosse and Hockey for Scotland.Jackie Forster - The Knitting CircleBrighton Ourstory - Jackie Forster, Winter 1998 Jackie became an actress and joined the Wilson Barrett repertory company in Edinburgh before moving to London in 1950. She attended the London's Arts Theatre Club was in various West End productions and films before developing a successful career as a TV presenter and news reporter under the name of Jacqueline MacKenzie.Jackie Forster - The Knitting CircleBrighton Ourstory - Jackie Forster, Winter 1998Jackie MacKenzie - IMDB Entry From 1957 she was on a lecuture tour in North America for part of the year and was in Savannah, Georgia, when she had her first lesbian affair. Despite this she married the author Peter Forster in 1958, but the marriage was over within two years as she accepted her true sexual identity. They divorced in 1962 and she went to live in Canada.Jackie Forster - The Knitting CircleBrighton Ourstory - Jackie Forster, Winter 1998 Quoting Jackie on her early lesbian experiences, she said 'I didn't see myself as being a Lesbian, or her, because I didn't look as I imagined they did, and nor did she. We weren't short back and sides and natty gent's suiting. I got the image from The Well of Lonliness, like we all did. There were drug stores around the States, with these pulp books, lurid stories about lesbians who smoked cigars and had orgies with young girls. I thought, Where are these women? We never met anyone we knew were lesbians. There were no other books that I found about lesbians, no films that we ever saw: nothing at all'.p.34 From the Closet to the Screen - Jill Gardiner ISBN 0863584276 In 1964, Jackie returned to Britain to work for Border Television; and then eventually moved in with a girlfriend and her children in London.Brighton Ourstory - Jackie Forster, Winter 1998 Activism In the 1960s she joined the Minorities Research Group and wrote for its journal, Arena Three. She would also regularly promote the magazine in the Gateways club.p.122 From the Closet to the Screen - Jill Gardiner ISBN 0863584276 Later on, she 'came out' publicly in 1969 when she joined the Campaign for Homosexual Equality (CHE) and went to serve on its Executive Committee.PFI Profile - Jackie Forster In 1970, she was a founder member of the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) in London. She was on the first Gay Pride march in the UK in August 1971. In 1972 she was one of the founders of Sappho, which was a social group and one of the UK's longest-running lesbian publications (Sappho magazine was published from 1972 to 1981, although the group continued to meet regularly for many more years). The Sappho group members used to meet in The Chepstow pub in Notting Hill and had public speakers such as Maureen Duffy and Anna Raeburn. After Sappho, Jackie became a member of the a member of Greater London Council's Women's Committee. From 1992 till her death in 1998 she was an active member of the Lesbian Archive and Information Centre management Committee.LAIC at the Glasgow Women's Library In 1997 a BBC film crew came to the archive to film Jackie for a programme about her life which was to be part of 'The Day That Changed My Life' series. Her work has made a huge impact on shaping the archive. Television and Film Appearances Caesar's Wife, 1951, television acting role.BFI - Ceasar's Wife You're Only Young Twice, 1952, film acting role as Nellie.Jackie Forster - The Knitting CircleBFI - You're Only young TwiceIMDB - You're Only Young Twice Love and Mr Lewisham, 1953, television acting role.BFI - Love and Mr Lewisham The Wedding of Lili Marlene, 1953, film acting role as Theatre Barmaid.Jackie Forster - The Knitting CircleIMDB - The Wedding of Lili Marlene Serious Charge, 1953, repertory theatre acting role.Jackie Forster - The Knitting Circle The Broken Jug, 1953, television acting role as Grete.BFI - The Broken Jug Gilbert Harding Finds Out, 1954, as straight-to-camera television reporter.Jackie Forster - The Knitting Circle Lilacs in the Spring, 1954, film acting role.Jackie Forster - The Knitting Circle The Dam Busters, 1955, film acting role as Canteen Waitress.Jackie Forster - The Knitting Circle You Can't Escape, 1955, television acting role as Mrs Baggerley.BFI - You can't EscapeIMDB - You Can't Escape Grace Kelly's Monaco wedding to Prince Rainier, 1956, as straight-to-camera television reporter. Won a Prix D'Italia.Jackie Forster - The Knitting Circle Pantomania or Dick Wittington, 1956, television comedy acting role.BFI - PantomainiaIMDB - Pantomania or Dick Wittington Tonight, as straight-to-camera television reporter.Jackie Forster - The Knitting Circle Hotfoot and Highlight, as straight-to-camera television reporter.Jackie Forster - The Knitting Circle Panorama, as straight-to-camera television reporter.Jackie Forster - The Knitting Circle Late Night Extra, as straight-to-camera television reporter.Jackie Forster - The Knitting Circle Trouble for Two, 1958, television acting role in a sitcom.Jackie Forster - The Knitting Circle Discovering America, 1958-1960, as straight-to-camera television reporter.Jackie Forster - The Knitting Circle Jacqueline Mackenzie In America, as straight-to-camera television reporter.Jackie Forster - The Knitting Circle Speak for Yourself, 1974 as television co-scriptwriter.Jackie Forster - The Knitting Circle We Recruit, 1995, appearance in a Channel 4 television documentary about the Lesbian Avengers.Jackie Forster - The Knitting CircleBFI - We Recruit From High Heels to Sensible Shoes, 1997, contributor to the BBC television series The Day That Changed My Life.BFI - From High Heels to Sensible ShoesJackie Forster - The Knitting Circle Trivia * The Glasgow LGBT Centre have a meeting room named the Jackie Forster Memorial Room. * She listed Hitch-hiking as one of her hobbies.IMDB- Biography References External links * Brighton Our Story * Knitting Circle * Sappho at the Lesbian Archive and Information Centre * Jackie Forster at the British Film Archive Category:1926 births Category:1998 deaths Category:British television presenters Category:LGBT people from Scotland Category:LGBT rights activists from the United Kingdom Category:LGBT history of the United Kingdom